


come on skinny love (just last the year)

by afire



Category: Runaways (Comics), Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, anyway this is just dorks being dorks, featuring bisexual!gert, hello welcome to my world of too many commas and excessive exposition may i take your order
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 17:52:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13370040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afire/pseuds/afire
Summary: The first time it happens is a complete accident.(or: three times nico unwittingly wears something of karolina's, and one time karolina wears something of hers)





	come on skinny love (just last the year)

The first time it happens is a complete accident.

Nico supposes the catalyst was her alarm clock mysteriously disappearing sometime during the night, and she’s definitely confused about it, but doesn’t have any time to investigate because as it stands she’s got fifteen minutes to get ready and hightail it to school before the first bell.

She’s got a piece of toast in her mouth and a bottle of orange juice in her bag when she wrenches the front door open, only to immediately slam it shut. The unwelcome burst of chilly air that entered the house in that split second lingers in the doorway and she shivers involuntarily. Winter is here and the wind is not shy about letting her know.

“Everything okay?” Her dad yells down the stairs, his head popping out from behind the hallway wall. “Aren’t you supposed to be going to school?”

“I’m fine.” Nico waves her hands at him. “It’s just cold.”

“Put a jacket on, don’t be late!” And he’s gone, probably off to tinker with whatever robotics project he’s currently working on.

There’s a jacket slung across the back of the couch, and Nico hops into the living room to pick it up and shrug it on before swinging out of the house, hoping that all the good karma she’s collected over the years is enough for her to make it to homeroom on time.

 

*****

 

People keep staring.

It’s not that she isn’t used to it, because an all-black wardrobe and a surly attitude is enough to warrant a few looks, but this is borderline ridiculous. Nico catches no less than five hastily shushed conversations when she walks into the cafeteria for lunch, and that’s only the people sitting near the door.

She’s this close to cornering someone and asking them what their problem is when someone calls her name.

It’s Alex, waving her over to the table he’s commandeered. Next to him, Chase and Molly are having what seems to be a very serious conversation, whilst Gert sits opposite them, wearing a semi-disgruntled expression.

Nico makes her way over, dropping her bag on the bench next to her before taking a seat next to Gert. “Guys.” She roots around for an apple, emerging triumphant and taking a bite. “Do you know why everyone keeps looking at me?”

Molly glances up, squinting across the table at her. “Oh, because you’re-”

"Looking real pretty today,” Gert interrupts, giving Molly a look that clearly means ‘shut up now’ before smiling serenely, "and whilst basing a person's worth on their outer beauty is a deeply flawed way of thinking, people will never stop feeding into it. So, that’s probably why they’re staring, don’t worry about it.”

Clearly seeing that Nico isn’t buying that explanation, Chase jumps in. “Or, you know, uh, maybe they’re just so excited that you’re back in school!”

“I never thought I’d say this, but even Gert is a better liar than you are,” Nico deadpans, twisting the stem off her apple. It’s true that she hasn’t been in school since the previous Wednesday because she’d caught some kind of bug, but the notion that people even realized she was gone is ridiculous.

Chase is saved from having to come up with a backup explanation when a shadow falls over the table, and Nico looks up to see Karolina beaming sunnily at her. “Hey! I was looking for that!”

Nico frowns, confused. “Looking for what?”

“That.” Karolina sits down next to her, reaching out to tug gently at the sleeve of the jacket that Nico is wearing. “I must’ve left it at yours when I dropped off your homework last week.”

“What?” Nico glances down at herself, suddenly realizing that the jacket she threw on that morning isn’t one that she owns. It's dark blue with white sleeves, and there are flowers motifs down the front; definitely not something she'd have worn if the looming threat of being late hadn’t been hanging over her head. It is, though, something Karolina would wear, and has worn, multiple times. “Oh, huh, I didn’t even realize. Do you want it back?”

“Nah, I’ve got tons of jackets,” Karolina says, smiling prettily as she brings out her own lunch, “and that one looks better on you, anyway.”

"Alright, thanks.” Nico takes another bite out of her apple, glancing around at the rest of the table, where everyone is looking at her weirdly. “What?”

As always, Molly happily starts to answer. “Do you-”

“Have English next, is what Molly was going to ask. Do you have English next?” Chase is blinking rapidly at Gert in what looks to be an attempt to convey a less-than-subtle message.

“I have History,” Nico says slowly, gaze bouncing back and forth between the both of them. “You know that, we’re in the same class.”

“Oh,” Chase falters for a moment before recovering, “yes, of course, it’s Monday, hmm, could’ve sworn it was Tuesday.” He laughs nervously, and Nico is about to ask him what the hell is going on when the bell rings, and Chase is suddenly standing. “I’m just going to … go to class! See you there!”

“Don’t mind him, it’s probably that coffee he had this morning.” Gert reaches forward to pat Nico gently on the shoulder. “No more caffeine for him, I think.”

Nico really doesn’t need to know about Chase’s coffee drinking habits, so she shrugs, waving at Gert as she walks off with Alex, the both of them immediately starting an intense whispered conversation, that Molly immediately tries to join, the moment their backs are turned.

“Is it just me, or is everyone being weird today?” Nico turns back to Karolina, who’s just getting up from the table.

“Weirder than normal, you mean?” Karolina asks, laughing as she picks up her bag. “I’m sure they’re fine, you know how they have their moments.” She leans forward to press a kiss to Nico’s cheek. “I’ll see you after school?”

“Yeah, I’ll meet you by your car.”

Everyone is still staring as she makes her way to class, but Nico just stuffs her hands into the pockets of Karolina’s jacket and ignores them all. They’ll find something else to look at before long.

 

* * *

 

The second time is maybe, possibly, a tiny little bit Nico's own fault.

In her defence, she really didn't have any other option.

Chase had bet her that she couldn't throw a water bottle all the way down the hall in the East Wing, which is just a glorified name for the arts building, and Nico's response had been to swipe the bottle out of Chase's own hands and chuck it as hard as she could.

Only, Chase had been about to take a sip, which meant the bottle was open, which meant that all Nico had managed to do was soak the entire front of her shirt.

Fortunately, school is over, which means no one is around to witness this transgression.

Less fortunately, Chase is there, and he's currently no help because he's too busy leaning against the wall and laughing his head off.

"I'm blaming you for this," Nico grumbles, twisting the front of her shirt and grimacing at the sound of water hitting the tiled floor.

"How is it my fault?"

"Don't know, still blaming you."

Nico picks the empty bottle up off the ground and lobs it in the direction of Chase's head, grinning when it hits him with a hollow thud. "You're cleaning this up," she says, gesturing to the puddle of water that's formed at her feet.

"Hey! Hold on, why-"

"Thanks!" Nico calls mockingly over her shoulder, giving him a wave before ducking into the bathroom.

She's staring at herself in the mirror, wondering how best to salvage the situation when the door swings open and Karolina slides in, wearing a sheepish smile. "Hey."

Nico sighs, turning so that the other girl can see the mess that's her shirt. "Hey, I don't suppose you have a hairdryer in that bag of yours?"

Karolina laughs softly, shaking her head. "Sorry, I'm all out." She takes a step forward, pulling at the wet fabric. "So, what'd you do?"

"Nothing," Nico grumbles, turning back to the mirror and watching as her friend comes around to stand behind her, "wasn't my fault."

The bathroom light flickers, and Nico lets herself lean backward, smiling slightly as Karolina readjusts to support her weight. They stand there quietly for a couple of seconds, listening as the sounds of Chase wrangling a mop out of the janitor's closet float down the hall.

"Here.” Karolina takes a tiny step back, and Nico blinks at the sudden loss of contact, swaying backward unexpectedly for a split second before she's steadied by a warm hand. “You can have my shirt."

"What? No, I can't."

"Yes, you can. We're going to the movies, remember? Alex texted us this morning, and you can't go with a wet shirt."

Nico is still shaking her head, but apparently she has no choice in the matter, because before she knows it, she's cloaked in Karolina's oversized flannel, the sleeves comically large on her. "I'm starting to think having a wet shirt was the better choice," she mutters, flapping her arms around.

"You'd be cold, and we can't have that."

"Can’t we?"

"Nope, now come on, we're meeting everyone out front." Karolina reaches out to take her hand, leading her out of the bathroom and down the hallway until they both emerge into the sun.

They run into Chase and Gert on the steps, interrupting what looks to be a conversation that neither of them want Nico or Karolina to hear, judging from the way they both clam up immediately. Chase is smirking something awful, but stops when Gert slaps him on the shoulder.

"What?" Nico raises an eyebrow, looking between the both of them.

"Nothing," Gert says quickly, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder, "Alex and Molly are already in the car, let's go."

They're halfway to the theatre before Nico realizes she's still holding Karolina's hand. She glances up at the other girl, meaning to ask about it, but Karolina is busy looking out the window, and Nico decides that she doesn't really want to let go, anyway.

 

* * *

 

The third time is, without a doubt, Nico's fault entirely.

They're currently crowded around a Monopoly board in the middle of Alex's guesthouse, watching amusedly as Molly negotiates a deal with Chase, who's this close to having to declare bankruptcy and doesn't want to have to be the first one who loses.

"Okay, how about fifty dollars and my Get Out of Jail Free card?"

"I don't _need_ the card, though."

"You might! Later! If you land in jail!"

"See, this is why we should've played Scrabble instead," Gert cuts in, eyeing the board with distaste. "Monopoly perpetuates the capitalistic culture of the modern economy and-"

"You're winning, though." Alex points at her stack of cash and the multitude of property cards that she's stacked neatly in a pile.

"Oh." Gert picks up the wad of bills, absentmindedly flicking through them as her gaze bounces back and forth between the board and everyone else's money. "Okay then, keep arguing."

Nico is considering making a trip to the pile of snacks in the corner to grab another bag of chips because, knowing Chase and Molly, it's going to be another twenty minutes before someone else gets to roll the dice. She's mentally listing the pros and cons of getting up from her very comfortable spot on the floor when someone leans over and rests their chin on her shoulder.

"What's up?" She tilts her head slightly to the left, smiling when Karolina, who's seated on a beanbag behind her, comes into view. "Enjoying the show?"

Karolina laughs lowly, and the sound vibrates along Nico's collarbone, straight to her heart. "This happens every time," she says, "we haven't finished a game of Monopoly in years."

"Five bucks says the board gets flipped before the end of the night," Nico whispers, delighting in the huff of amusement that she elicits from the other girl.

"Ten bucks says it's Gert who does it," Karolina shoots back. Her breath smells like the strawberry gum that she's been chewing, fresh, and clean, and saccharinely sweet.

"What are you guys whispering about over there?"

They startle apart, looking up to find the rest of the group staring. Molly is the one who asked the question, though her stern tone of voice is waylaid by the blinding grin that she's wearing.

"Nothing," Nico says, hiding her smile in the sleeve of her shirt when she spots Karolina out of the corner of her eye, cheeks tinted a delicate pink. "Have you guys cut a deal yet?"

"We've given up, Gert wins." Molly throws her money back into the box before stretching up into a yawn. "Like she always does."

"Hey, it's not my fault I know how to manipulate both capital and property in such a way that leads to my success." Gert primly places her property cards back into their proper slot before she starts to collect the little plastic houses. "And it's bedtime for you."

"No, it's not!" Molly is immediately indignant, sitting up straight and glaring at her sister. "You guys always send me to bed first, and then you stay up talking. I want to talk too!"

Karolina, sensing an oncoming tantrum, stands and dusts herself off, dropping her own money back into the box. "Actually, I'm pretty tired, I think I'm done for the night." She half-turns, and the smile that graces her soft features then is the prettiest that Nico's ever seen. "Coming with?"

"Hm?" Nico takes a moment to recalibrate, reaching up to take the hand that's being offered to her. "Oh, yeah, yes. I'm coming with."

Everyone is staring, again, and this time they're all wearing matching smirks.

Nico decides that it's too late to deal with their nonsense and just follows Karolina to their shared room in the back of the guesthouse.

They'd assigned roommates when they were younger, and haven't bothered to do any switches ever since. Gert and Molly have the room that's closest to the bathroom, because Molly always needs to go sometime during the night and none of them want to hear her trudging down the hallway at three in the morning, and Alex and Chase bunk on the couch beds in the living area, right next to the fireplace, because they'd always been the most susceptible to cold.

That left the last room to Nico and Karolina, and seeing as neither of them had any complaints about it, this was the arrangement that everyone had agreed on.

(Thank god, too, Nico thought she'd never hear the end of that discussion.)

"You okay?" Karolina is standing in the middle of the room, right in front of the windows. Moonlight is streaming in from behind her, and she's backlit magnificently, so much so that there's a faint white glow around her silhouette. In that moment, she looks more goddess than girl.

"Fine," Nico says, "just thinking." She reaches for her bag, fully intending to change into her pajamas, when something makes her pause. "Hey, Karolina?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you have an extra shirt?"

"What?"

"An extra shirt, do you have one?"

"Um, yeah probably." She rummages around her own bag, emerging with a plain white t-shirt, holding it by the collar. "Why?"

"Can I borrow it?"

Karolina freezes, and in the semi-darkness, her expression is unreadable.

"I mean, it's fine," Nico backtracks immediately, "that's weird. Is it weird? It's weird."

"No, no," Karolina tosses the shirt over, and Nico catches it instinctively, "it's not weird. Of course you can borrow it."

They change in silence, and Nico doesn't speak until they're both tucked into their own beds. "Thanks," she says quietly.

"Don't mention it." Karolina's voice, though soft, is crystal clear, and it carries through the night air with ease. "Goodnight, Nico. Sweet dreams."

Nico exhales, closing her eyes. "Goodnight."

 

*****

 

She wakes up to the smell of pancakes, and the promise of breakfast has her out of bed and into the bathroom to brush her teeth before her brain even catches up to her actions.

When she returns, the bedroom is otherwise empty, but Nico can hear voices from the dining area, and when she pads down the hall and rounds the corner, she sees everyone clustered around the table, fighting over the maple syrup.

"Good morning!" Karolina waves her over, smiling brightly. "Alex made pancakes."

"I can see that." Nico detours past the cabinets to fish her own knife and fork out of the utensil drawer before taking a seat, pulling her plate toward her and patiently waiting for Molly to be done with the syrup. She looks up when the conversation starts to peter out and frowns when she sees that everyone is just staring at her, again. "What?"

"That's not your shirt," Chase says, eyes wide, "it's totally too big for you."

"Yeah, I borrowed Karolina's."

"Oh, is that what the kids are calling it these days?" Gert twirls her fork through the air in an act of nonchalance. "I really have to brush up on the modern lingo."

Nico, as always, though loathe as she is to admit it, is completely lost. "What are you even talking about?"

Gert just grins, and then suddenly they're having an in-depth discussion about toxic masculinity in mainstream media. Nico almost feels like she's got whiplash from the sudden topic change.

"Hey." Karolina is leaning in, even though her gaze is still focused across the table, where Alex and Chase look confused as Gert schools them. "For the record, the shirt looks great on you.

"Oh." Nico glances down at herself, and if anyone asks, she is absolutely not blushing. "Thanks."

Karolina grins, and her teeth are almost fluorescently white in the morning sun. "Anytime."

 

* * *

 

It's a Monday. Nine in the morning on a Monday, in fact. And in Nico's honest opinion, it is far too early in the week to have a life-changing epiphany.

As it is, she's standing in front of her locker, digging through her stuff in an attempt to find the book she borrowed from Karolina and completely forgot to return, when it happens.

"Oh, my god." The book falls from her fingers to land with a quiet thump by her feet. "I'm dating Karolina."

It's not an unwelcome thought, by any means, and Nico knows it isn't strictly true, but still. The hand holding, and cheek kissing, and clothes sharing isn't exactly a hundred percent platonic, at least, not on her end.

(And, if she's being honest, it doesn't seem all that platonic on Karolina's end either.)

She only has a couple of seconds to let this sink in before someone is calling her name, and when Nico turns, she almost gets thwacked in the face with a book.

"Woah! Hey, you good?"

It's Gert, and she's picked up the book Nico had dropped and is holding it toward her now, brows furrowed in concern.

"What? Oh, I'm fine." Nico takes the book, putting it back in her locker. "Actually, no, I'm not."

"What's wrong?"

Nico dithers on the spot for a moment before deciding that there's no reason why Gert shouldn't be able to keep a secret, at least for a little while. "Are Karolina and I dating?"

Gert is quiet for a solid minute, and then she's laughing, doubled over and trying to catch her breath.

"Alright, alright, no need to go crazy." Nico crosses her arms. "Just answer the question."

"I don't know." Gert is visibly trying to hold in her laughter, but she schools her expression into something more serious. "No, seriously, I have no idea. The whole group has been waiting for you to tell us about it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you guys have been acting all squirrely lately, and-"

"Squirrely? What does that even mean?"

"It means you're always in your own little world, having those whisper conversations and laughing about something that none of us know about."

"What? No, we aren't."

"Hmm, yes, you are. We all decided to give you guys some space, you know, let you come out in your own time." Gert's expressions softens, and she reaches out to squeeze Nico's wrist gently. "You know none of us care, right?"

"About what?"

"You know, the fact that you're both girls."

Oh, right, that's an issue. Nico hadn't even thought that far ahead.

Gert takes her silence as an invitation to keep speaking. “Wait, so you're not dating?"

Nico shrugs, leaning down to pick up her bag from where she's dumped it unceremoniously on the floor. "I'm not sure, I'll have to ask."

"What kind of person doesn't know if they're dating a pretty girl?"

"Hold on," Nico pauses, glancing up, "you think she's pretty?"

"Hey, just because I like Chase at the moment, doesn't mean I'm suddenly blind-" Gert cuts herself off, eyes wide when she realizes what she just said.

"Okay, Casanova, how about this: I'll ask Karolina if we're dating, and you deal with your … Chase problem."

"It's not a problem!"

Nico hums noncommittedly, shouldering her bag. "If you say so." She turns to start making her way to the library, where she intends to camp out for the rest of her study period.

"It's not!" Gert reiterates, voice carrying down the hall.

All Nico does is keep walking. "Whatever you say!"

 

*****

 

She doesn't actually get to ask Karolina about it until later that week, between classes and homework and isolating herself in her room to get a grip on her feelings, by the time Nico manages to get Karolina alone, it's already Thursday afternoon.

And then there's the fact that she's a clueless coward who doesn't know how to start a conversation she doesn't even know if she wants to have.

A voice in the back of her mind that sounds suspiciously like Gert reminds her that she's got to do this if she's to get any peace of mind at all, so Nico takes a deep breath, concentrating on the pen she's spinning around her fingers so she doesn't chicken out.

"Hey, Karolina?"

They're spending the afternoon in Nico's room, ostensibly doing homework but in actuality just filling the dead air with easy conversation. Karolina is lying down on the floor, tracing the glow-in-the-dark stars on Nico's ceiling with her eyes, while Nico herself is leaning up against her headboard.

"Hmm?"

"Are we … are we dating?"

There's silence for so long that Nico thinks Karolina hasn’t heard, and is just psyching herself up to repeat the question, when the other girl pops up from the floor. "Are we?"

Nico shrugs, refusing to make eye contact. "I don't know, I mean, we do a lot of couple things? Like, we're always holding hands, and stuff."

"Friends hold hands, too," Karolina says cautiously, like she's measuring her words, "it doesn't have to be a couple thing."

"What if I want it to be?" Nico says it so fast, she trips over the words, and once they're out, she can't quite believe they came from her.

Karolina's expression is an amalgamation of curiosity, and puzzlement, and hope. "Do you?"

"Yes?" Nico winces, because that sounded weak, even to her own ears. "Yes," she says again, louder, "I want it to be."

And the silence again, settling between them heavily. Nico realizes that she doesn't like it at all.

"Nico," Karolina is standing up now, coming over to sit on the edge of the bed, "will you freak out if I kiss you?"

This time, her voice is steady when she answers. "No, I won't."

Karolina leans in, and, to her own surprise, Nico meets her halfway.

There's no fireworks, or butterflies, or a bell going off in her head to let her know that this is the biggest moment of her life to date, but Karolina's hands are warm on her face, and Nico thinks kissing her feels like coming home.

They pull apart after a while, and Nico grins, reaching out to rub her thumb against the edge of Karolina's mouth. "You've got my lipstick-"

Karolina just laughs, gently pulling her hand away. “About time I wear something of yours for a change, don’t you think?”

Nico just rolls her eyes and leans in for another kiss.

 

*****

 

They tell the others the next day, and Molly slams her fists down on the table, grinning madly.

"I knew it!” She sticks her hand out to Gert, Chase, and Alex. “Pay up!”

They grumble, digging around for some cash as Nico watches in amusement.

“Does it bother you that they were betting on us?”

Karolina just smiles. “I don’t think it matters very much,” she says, eyes bright with happiness.

And Nico, tilting upward to steal a kiss, can’t help but agree.

**Author's Note:**

> Forgive me for any inconsistencies within their personalities, this is my first time writing for this fandom; I tried my best!
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr at [softpluto](http://taylorswift.co.vu) where I am, maybe, tentatively taking requests. You can try your luck.
> 
> Until next time, catch y'all on the flipside!


End file.
